US life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2024, CDC says

It’s up to 79, the highest in US history. What are you going to do with your extra time?

‘What if I told you this school had no teachers?’: Is AI schooling the future of education — or a risky bet?

I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords. I’m not sure this is a great idea. There’s a lot of stuff AI does really well. It can even help make a teachers life way easier, but you need a human around or there could be all sorts of problems.

More Stories Below, but first some new content in the News Sidequest Podcast Universe…

Auditory Anthology

SCI-FI SHORT STORIES - NARRATED BY DARREN MARLAR & PRODUCED BY KEITH CONRAD

The Delivery by Tuukka Sarkki - In the clinical shadows of a Mercury research station, a high-stakes trade for a mysterious red box ends with a contract signed in blood and a chilling betrayal that ignites the fuse of a planetary war.

The Delivery by Tuukka Sarkki Keith Conrad / Darren Marlar Episode

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Also Worth A Look…

• Scientists Find Earth-sized Exoplanet Candidate in Star’s Habitable Zone - It’s 150 million light years away, so don’t get too exited. We’ll never be stopping by for a visit. But if they happen to be looking in our direction and have some way of looking at Earth in detail, they’d see dinosaurs. That’s pretty cool for them

• US cybersecurity chief leaked sensitive government files to ChatGPT: Report - How could the cybersecurity chief possibly know that’s not a good idea?

• Japan has a bar for people thinking of quitting their jobs & drinks are free - That’s definitely something we need to think about importing to the United States. Especially now. Especially the free drinks

• Shark Tank Star Faked Own Funeral for Her 70th Birthday - That’s a long way to go for a prank. Would you want to be a fly on the wall at your funeral to hear what people really think of you?

• Man allegedly posed as FBI agent in apparent attempt to spring Luigi Mangione from prison - I think this needs to become a blockbuster movie. Except hopefully the character being busted out of prison will be a worthwhile person, and not a murderer

• Scientists Discover 90 Strange New Species From 512 Million Years Ago - Maybe they think we’re the strange species

• Man dressed as duck pours milk and cereal over himself on Glasgow Subway - I definitely never ran into that on the Red Line here in Chicago. Seems like a waste of perfectly good cereal

• Semi crash covers Wisconsin highway in beer kegs - It was Wisconsin, so it goes without saying that those kegs did not remain on the road for very long

• Could Oklahoma strippers need a license to dance? Two lawmakers say yes - Who would be in charge of licensing the strippers? What would be the standard to verify that they are in fact certified strippers?